The One Who Saw Crimson
by Mlle Bienvenu
Summary: An alchemist dies performing a human transmutation leaving his creation to it's own devices. What path will it choose for itself?


The One Who Saw Crimson

_No one can gain anything without losing anything.  
That is the essence of Alchemy's Law of Equivalency.  
Sometimes though, you might not like what you get.  
But sometimes, just sometimes, it turns out to be a blessing in disguise. _

As usual, it was raining in Central. A woman stared without focus ahead of herself down the slick grey streets, the colors blending into each other as if diluted and themselves thinned by the rain. She was freezing cold, although she did not know it.

The only bright spot in the grey day was a boy wearing a red coat. Her rain-drenched gaze was caught and held by the vivid color like a moth drawn towards a flame and she moved instinctively towards it.

The rain stopped abruptly and she looked up to see the sky above her had become lined with wrought iron and windowglass and although she didn't know what either of those things were, she was glad the cold wetness had stopped falling. She only knew one thing, only had one thought, and that was to follow the red thing.

A person passed in front of her, and her attention momentarily wandered, following what looked like a red firefly, a tiny crimson spark that seemed to dance and send it's red glow around the person, coloring and vivifying it. She knew she wanted it, to hold it in her hand. She knew it would feel warm against her skin, and although she didn't know what 'warm' was either, she knew it was something to be desired.

Her hand reached out to the spark that danced and winked at her almost as though playing a game of hide and seek.

"What the hell are you doing? Don't touch me!" The man pulled his raincoat closer around himself and stared down at the bedraggled woman who moments before had her hand on his chest, "I have no money for beggars. Get a _real_ job, wench."

She stared up at him blankly, his words rolling over her head without any impact. It could have been because she had no idea what 'money', 'beggars' 'job' and 'wench' were. Or it could have been because her attention again wandered to the red firefly... she was sure she could get it this time. Her fingers darted out again and closed around the red spark. It was indeed warm and tickled as it traveled up her arm. She laughed as the red glow colored her cheeks and warmed her from the inside.

The man fell to his knees and slumped forward, his expression neither shocked nor totally placid. It was just as it had been moments before, a scowl of distaste, only out of context, it's animation gone. She walked past him, her interest in him waning, now that she had the firefly for her own. Her attention once again turned to the boy in the red coat.

He was standing by a door and handing something to a man who stood at the door. the man ripped the white thing in half and the red coated boy went inside. She quickened her pace, no longer able to see the red coat.  
"Ticket please." The man said, putting a hand on her shoulder to stop her from walking past him. She blinked slowly at him and he smiled at her,

"Tick-et please." She mimicked the sounds he made and they sounded funny to her, she laughed again.

He frowned, confused, "I need to see your ticket, ma'am." He held out his palm expectantly.

"I have no money for beggars. Get a real job, wench." She said without the proper emotion behind it.

"What?" The ticket-taker's eyes widened in shock.

"What?" She mimicked back.

"I asked you!"

"I asked you."

"I asked you first!"

"I asked you first."

"Hey," Someone called from across the train station, "Hey, we need help here...someone's hurt... I ... I think he might be... Hey, someone call a doctor!"

A man was slumped over on the floor amongst his baggage, and a woman was shaking him, trying to see if he was alright. The ticket taker paled, "You...you just wait right here, okay?" He jumped down from his station to call a doctor.

"You, you just wait right here, okay?" She said and boarded the train. 


End file.
